Pulling off the greatest political upset the City of Montreal has seen in a long time, she managed to beat the powerful voting machine of incumbent mayor Denis Coderre and coast to a resounding victory. What should have been a cakewalk for the latter, ended with him being the first Montreal mayor in 60 years to be denied a second term, and with Plante becoming the first woman to be elected mayor in the city's 375-year history.

Does Plante owe part of her victory to the sweeping influence of the #MeToo movement and an overwhelming desire by voters to disassociate from the Old Boys’ network and an era of arrogant men steamrolling through what they wanted? Without a doubt.

There has been general disgust and anger with the recent sexual assault allegations involving prominent Quebec figures such as former Just for Laughs president Gilbert Rozon and talk show host Éric Salvail. Those, in turn, were triggered by a wave of similar allegations sweeping Hollywood and a Trump presidency that has triggered a rise in hate speech and misogyny.

There were certainly no such allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Coderre. But he was caught up as collateral damage in a tide of anger. Many Montrealers punished the former federal cabinet minister to dismantle an old system.

Coderre brought on his own downfall with arrogance, a lack of transparency, and a type of “Father knows Best” condescending attitude that led him to steamroll ideas through, even when Montrealers told him clearly that they were not even vaguely interested in them.....

Now, unemployed after losing his seat on city council, Bergeron makes no secret of the fact that he wants a job with Valérie Plante's administration — even if, three days before the election, he warned that Projet Montréal was "radical" and "far left."

His criticism of his old party, he said, was part of the "political game."

When Valerie Plante was elected mayor of Montreal on November 8, she acknowledged the historic moment in her victory speech, telling a packed room of supporters that she was humbled and proud to break the glass ceiling.

“Tonight, we wrote a new page in Montreal’s history. Three hundred and seventy-five years after Jeanne Mance co-founded the city, Montreal has its first female mayor.”

Given the scope and significance of this milestone, one would expect other politicians to reach out and offer congratulations. Certainly, many did. Some, however, did not consider the achievement meritorious enough to validate with even the most elementary of gestures. Enter the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) council and a study in pettiness.

quote:

Pivotal moments will continue to happen

The Montreal election was a pivotal moment, not just because of Plante’s win, but because of a record-breaking number of women elected as borough mayors and borough and city councillors in and around the island of Montreal. For the first time ever, there are more women than men in Montreal City Hall. While this is particularly welcome news to equality advocates and those who wish to see more women in politics and in the public arena, it’s understandably scary to those who enjoy the status quo and how it’s benefited them in the past.

Already with the executive committee there are no visible minorities and no anglophones (first time since 1978 that there are no anglos in the executive committee.) Still don't regret voting for her because Coderre is a clown, but also less excited for what's to come because the fact that they believe that exclusively white and francophone is representative of Montreal and represents diversity starts to confirm some of the wariness some people had about Projet Montreal.

Still just begun her term so I'll give them a chance, plenty of time to change course.

Kind of like La Meute. They believe Quebec should be white,catholic and French.But on second thought,Cathy Wong was named speaker,an Asian and the first woman to hold that position. Unfortunately she is part of Équipe Denis Coderre.Unfortunately,Montréal's city council has a few anglos and people of colour but they are all from 'Equipe Denis Coderre an 1 anglo from Coalition Montréal.

I still voted for her,I still think Coderre was an arrogant clown and I'm happy there is only 1 person representing the right wing Coalition Montréal.

It's early,we'll see how things go over the next few years. But it is disappointing that there is such a lack of people of colour and anglos. Although Projet Montréal has at least one anglo,Sterling Downey.

Anglos are under represented in all branches of government in Québec. But it doesn't bother me too much. What bothers me is the fact that virtually no anglos work for government services. That must change.

Shit, I wrote a long, detailed post on the importance of diversity but also contrasting that with the "ethnic power-broker" model that has too long dominated politics of the PLQ constellation including Coderre's party. Disappeared into thin air.

I wouldn't have been worried anyway had their been no anglos. I want Plante to have every opportunity to succeed and become a very longstanding mayor of Montreal. For that she needs the strongest most supportive council she can get. She can only pick from the people elected. I believe she made the effort to have a diverse cabinet and will continue to make that effort because that is the kind of person she is. I wouldn't want Denis Coderre's people on council unless Plante wanted them there. I trust her more than any other politician I know of in Canada to make decisions on behalf of the people. When she spoke English in her victory speech she genuinely wanted to reassure. It is more important to have a mayor that genuinely cares for all Montrealers regardless of race, language, or gender than it is to have token representatives on council.

Just because someone is female or of a particular race or language doesn't mean they are progressive or honest. Of course it would be nice to have more diversity but just because someone has a vagina doesn't mean they will automatically represent my interests. I am delighted that Plante is female but I would have voted Projet over Coderre under almost anyone. I have extra confidence in her because she is a female progressive but the progressive part comes first. I hope that with this win the party can attract more diverse candidates for the next election and I do believe that they will try to.

Lagatta, I am sorry your post vanished. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it. As a general tip I find if I use the preview button periodically on a long post the post becomes recoverable. Given the narrow window we have to type in it also makes it easier to read what I wrote.

Now, unemployed after losing his seat on city council, Bergeron makes no secret of the fact that he wants a job with Valérie Plante's administration — even if, three days before the election, he warned that Projet Montréal was "radical" and "far left."

His criticism of his old party, he said, was part of the "political game."

Actually that is faux news. He didn't seek a job with the party. The reporter asked him if he would be willing to work for them so of course he said yes but he was not actively seeking a position.

Don't worry, I'll get back to it. I just want to run an errand (down in nearby Mile-End) while the sun is shining. It is actually faster to walk there (near Parc and Bernard) than take the bus, and I won't ride my bicycle in the tunnel when there might be ice.

Yes, Craig Sauvé is an anglo (though fluent in French) and Richard Ryan is a franco (though fluent in English).

In terms of anglo council members, I wonder why Peter McQueen wasn't chosen? It could also have been his decision, as he is as much an activist for pedestrian and cyclist security and public transport as Ferrandez or Croteau, but as Projet was in the minority before, wasn't able to make as much headway as he would have liked. The new superhospital has created new traffic problems in the borough, though some improvements have been made. Perhaps I'll meet up with him at some transport-related event, and we can have a chat.

Very disappointed with the budget. Valerie Plante made a point of saying numerous times that Montreal relies too much on property tax to raise revenue in comparison to other large cities which is true and would find other revenue sources, promised that the tax rates would be held to inflation, blatantly broke that promise and is now pretending she kept the promise.

Very disappointed with the budget. Valerie Plante made a point of saying numerous times that Montreal relies too much on property tax to raise revenue in comparison to other large cities which is true and would find other revenue sources, promised that the tax rates would be held to inflation, blatantly broke that promise and is now pretending she kept the promise.

It is unfortunate but I'm not giving up on her yet. I knew when I voted for her than once elected the realities of the job would interfere with her goals.

She is taking over an existing machine that is used to being run a certain way and needs fuel to continue operating. I agree it is disappointing but I don't feel betrayed. I don't think she would have done it had she any other choice.

I knew when I voted for her than once elected the realities of the job would interfere with her goals.

I think it would be a good thing if politicians could acknowledge "political realities" when making false promises.

It's too easy to say "Oh, yes, I did promise no more tax hikes (or no more tax cuts, or whatever) and then, having won, say "Gosh, the political reality won't permit me to follow through on my promises at this time..."

It's also pretty funny to me that conservative governments are assumed to have all the power in the world to (for example) tax the hell out of businesses, but they don't, because they're broken and empty humans without a soul. But when a left-wing government is elected and doesn't tax the hell out of businesses that's just an unfortunate side effect of "reality". They totally wanted to! They even promised to! But for a multitude of reasons that they could have easily studied prior to the election, they just CAN'T! It's the system's fault, really!

I knew when I voted for her than once elected the realities of the job would interfere with her goals.

I think it would be a good thing if politicians could acknowledge "political realities" when making false promises.

It's too easy to say "Oh, yes, I did promise no more tax hikes (or no more tax cuts, or whatever) and then, having won, say "Gosh, the political reality won't permit me to follow through on my promises at this time..."

It's also pretty funny to me that conservative governments are assumed to have all the power in the world to (for example) tax the hell out of businesses, but they don't, because they're broken and empty humans without a soul. But when a left-wing government is elected and doesn't tax the hell out of businesses that's just an unfortunate side effect of "reality". They totally wanted to! They even promised to! But for a multitude of reasons that they could have easily studied prior to the election, they just CAN'T! It's the system's fault, really!

I didn't say she gets a free pass indefinitely but she is a rookie. I'll judge her during the year and then after a few more years to see if she has achieved sufficient progress. For example, if she fails to keep taxes down, but succeeds in getting free bus passes for people on limited income, that will mitigate her failure on the tax issue.

Everyone knows, including yourself, that all political plans hinge on what they find in the books and it invaribly isn't what they thought it would be. I think it's unrealistic to expect a candidate to preface their plans with "if the budget is what I expect".

I have always interpreted platforms as aspirational not as a list of promises because that is how it has always turned out to be.

So far accusing politicians of breaking promises doesn't seem to have been a successful tactic in preventing them from being re-elected.